The Wheel Turns- Autumn Equinox

It's been too long since I have posted. September 2021 hasn't been the best for the garden.

Lack of rain and high temps has left the garden rather dry and dreary, but today we are blessed with over an inch of rain and more to come. That is more rain than the cumulative of the last five weeks. That makes this weary gardener happy. Whole Foods has brought out a few more organic herbs for planting, decorative pumpkins and of course mums. Twice I have been lucky to find dill plants with plump Eastern Black caterpillars. Today was one of those times. We love to plant for future butterflies.

As mentioned in an earlier post, the moon flowers are performing beautifully. Ian is getting a little obsessive by counting blossoms each night. Who am I kidding? I'm counting the number of buds on the Moon Shadow camellia. That's what happens when you have two Virgos gardening.

I was so happy about the rain and predicted high temperature of 74 degrees for tomorrow that I also purchased two small butterfly bushes from Whole Foods: Humdinger series, Lavender Cupcake. Where to put them? I'll think of something. As the trees surrounding our home get taller we have very few places that are truly full sun.

Please ignore the dog pad on the patio. I was trying to let it drain. We are still waiting for the motorized retractable awning. Supply chain issues have affected those as well. It should be here soon though. Note the dead plant in the center of the grouping. This was a casualty of the heat and no rain. We managed to keep most plants alive, but not the

autumn sage that was transplanted in the early part of summer.

Here's a bright note, the cardinal plant that I placed in the pond is doing well. I have the pot above the water line.

The purple blossoms are native pickerel rush. Something stripped the cardinal plant of its leaves earlier in the summer, but the top blossom has repeated. There is new growth forming at the base, too. I have seen a hummingbird trying it out. Maybe, I'll get a photo before they leave us for Central America.

I hope that Fall finds you well! Julie has shared Jack in the Pulpit and Black-eyed Susan seeds with us. The native Jack in the Pulpit seeds were planted in the Beaver Marsh area by Ian. Our gardens are simply too dry for them to survive. Maybe, we will get to experience an Indian summer now.